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Tuesday, September 9, 2014

MacBridge for RootsMagic Announced

http://rootsmagic.com/
RootsMagic, the popular genealogical software program, announced the availability of MacBridge for RootsMagic, enabling the program to run on an Apple Macintosh computer without the use of Microsoft Windows. Here is a description of the program:

One of the most common questions we are asked is, “When will RootsMagic run on a Mac?” With today’s release of MacBridge for RootsMagic 6, the answer is“right now”. MacBridge for RootsMagic 6 allows you easily install and run RootsMagic on your Mac in mere minutes with almost no additional setup or configuration.

MacBridge for RootsMagic is different than other solutions you may be familiar with. For starters, it does not install Windows on your Mac. It also does not create a slow and bulky virtual computer. It runs right on your Mac, using your Mac file system. You can even put the RootsMagic icon on your dock for easy one-click access! So while we are busily working on an actual native Mac version of RootsMagic, MacBridge for RootsMagic 6 gives you the ability to work on a Mac today.
This is a long awaited development and comes at almost the same time as Apple announces new versions of the iPhone and the new iWatch. As a long-time Apple user, I have never quite understood why genealogy software was available so exclusively on Windows computers. But over the past few years, that barrier has almost been erased. I used to maintain a PC Windows computer just for the purpose of running genealogy software and my accounting. Now, I run only accounting software and seldom use the PC. With the advent of online programs, the need to move from one computer to another has also practically disappeared.

I certainly welcome the entry of RootsMagic into the Apple world and hope that other vendors make the transition soon.

3 comments:

  1. Love to hear this! These desktop programs are the ultimate research logs and in my view, a very necessary item. Without it, I could really screw up my family tree!

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  2. This looks pretty cool, at first glance. I paid the $9.95 and activated RootsMagic 6 with my previously purchased RootsMagic key, and no problems.

    I rented Crossover for Mac last year and installed RootsMagic under it. I gave up on this version of RootsMagic because it crashed when trying to "Fix broken missing media links". I also run RootsMagic under VMWare Fusion (with no problems).

    So, this $9.95 MacBridge (actually a version of Crossover, dedicated only to RootsMagic) doesn't crash when trying to "Fix broken missing media links" and does seem to work elsewhere. So it's very convenient to use as a native Mac App.

    After reviewing MacBridge FAQ area (http://www.rootsmagic.com/mac/FAQ/) I noticed some features it doesn't have (compared to the PC version) like RootsMagic To-Go, Burning to Shareable CD, Mapping and a couple others. These items all relate to the file system, but don't keep the basic program from working.

    So, I'm going to continue to experiment with MacBridge/RootsMagic 6. I like the advanced Books and Sourcing features of RootsMagic. My main genealogy program is still Reunion.

    I wonder what's going to happen when there's an update to RootsMagic? The current version of the RootsMagic (I just updated it) under VMWare Fusion is 6.3.1.4 July 2014, and the current version of MacBridge/RootsMagic is 6.3.1.5 August 2014.

    I hope others will comment here. There is a forum on RootsMagic's web site (http://forums.rootsmagic.com/index.php?/forum/27-discussion/) but not too much about MacBridge, yet.
    Bill George williamcgeorge@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the update and information about the program.

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